When that Titan had crashed into the cart of civilians, the soldiers and noncombatants were all thrown off it with great force, and with a grunt, they fell onto the ground, hard.

Rico and Nac had both been thrown off the cart with great force, with the aforementioned cart breaking into half right as the Titan had slammed into it. Rolling to a stop not long thereafter, the soldiers took a moment to recover from their disorientation before they forced themselves up to their feet and brandished their Anti-Titan Blades, ready to take down the Titan all the while.

As they unsheathed their weapons, however, the two soldiers widened their eyes in horror when they saw the multitude of civilians that had been launched as well; having not been trained to brace against such falls, the noncombatants were all sent towards the ground, where they landed hard. The Garrison and Survey Corp were torn between moving in to assist them and standing against the Titan that had attacked them in the first place…

… though that choice was quickly made for them when, without warning, the Titan got up from where it had landed, with it raising itself up to its maximum height, revealing itself to be a Thirteen metre specimen. Its back was to the soldiers as it stood to its maximum height, and before long, it turned around to stare at those that it had just attacked, revealing there to be…

"No…!"

There was a civilian in its mouth! The upper half of a noncombatant was stuck, trapped in the Titan's maw, attempting to free themselves as their legs squirmed in a panic. Seeing this made both soldiers pause momentarily as they processed what they were seeing, though Rico, being the more experienced soldier, was quick to snap out of it and take a step towards the Thirteen metre.

"NO!-"

And right as that word left her mouth, and before she could even make a move against the Titan, the Thirteen metre snapped its jaws shut, in turn slicing the civilian in its mouth in half. Both Nac and Tico widened their eyes in horror when they saw this, with them watching as blood and viscera fell to the ground alongside the bottom half of the civilian they had failed to save.

As half the corpse of the civilian fell to the ground, the other noncombatants present all screamed in bloody murder as they made a beeline for it, with them scrambling to escape the Titan's gaze all the while. They were not trained to handle the stress that came with being a soldier, so their reactions were not particularly surprising, though some remained rooted to the spot, having been paralyzed with fear as they stared up at the Titan standing before them.

Said Titan promptly turned and leered down at the civilians with its sharp grin and dull, lifeless eyes, and seconds later, its gaze snapped towards Martha Carolina, who remained rooted to the spot in horror. She watched as it stomped towards her, with each step shaking the ground beneath her as its static grin, lips caked with blood and eyes filled with nothing but hunger drew closer, and within seconds, it crouched down to grab at her…

… only for a blurr to abruptly zip by its wrist, severing it almost completely in one fell swoop! Widening her eyes as the blood of the Titan splattered onto her face, Martha stumbled backwards as the Thirteen metre staggered back in apparent surprise, and all the while…

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

Nac Tias veered back, with his eyes filled with rage as he circled back around and darted towards one of the Titan's ankles, and with a decisive swing of his blades, he was able to sever a major tendon in its foot, forcing it to fall to one knee moments later. Without wasting a second, Nac veered back towards it, with him taking stock of how its nape was now exposed to him, and by all means, he wished to end this thing right here and now as retribution for what it had done, though as he swung back in to slash at the Titan, Tias took stock of how its gaze had abruptly darted towards him quite suddenly.

"...!"

And right as it did so, the Titan moved rather swiftly and grabbed Nac out of the air, snatching him right out of the air within a matter of seconds. The junior soldier gasped in shock as this happened, though he was quick to attempt to break free as he wiggled around in the Titan's grasp to little avail. Slowly but surely, he was brought up to its face…

… though mere seconds later, Rico swung in and slashed at the Titan's eyes, blinding it and forcing it to recoil back as it swung its arm out towards the air, throwing Nac towards the sky all the while. Tias flew through the sky briefly before Brzenska launched herself towards him and grabbed him out of the air, where she cradled him in one arm, an awkward endeavor indeed, before throwing him back into the fray.

"Eyes up, kid!" advised Rico as she flung Nac back into the fray, and as she did so, the man nodded as he calmed himself as quickly as he could before turning back towards the Titan, and upon doing so, his superior called out to him. "Together now! We'll cut it down together!"

"Understood!"

And with that uttered, the two soldiers veered towards the back of the Thirteen metre's neck, and upon doing so, they swung towards it and, with the combined force of their natural strength and the momentum of their swings, they were able to slash straight through the Titan's flesh, downing it in an instant. The blinded Titan convulsed briefly before it went limp, remaining in its kneeling position even as it faded into nothing.

Whilst that happened, both Nac and Rico landed back on the ground, where the former stumbled awkwardly atop the grass whilst the latter landed in a roll. Thereafter, the duo got up and checked on the civilians that were still recovering from their landings… those that hadn't fled on instinct, at least, though whilst Brzenska had rushed in to make sure the noncombatants as a whole were alright, Tias had instead moved to check on a single individual.

"Mum! MUM!" yelled Nac as he skidded to a halt in front of his parent, who remained knelt down as her eyes were wide and unblinking. Nac yelling for her snapped her out of her trance-like state, and upon acknowledging his voice, the single mother turned towards him with a broken expression. Tias was quick to realize that, more likely than not, this was the first time his mother had bore witness to a Titan executing a person, and upon realizing this, he reached out and pulled her in for a hug, one that she shakily recuperated moments later. "Mum… I… it's going to be okay, mum. I promise you…"

"..." no response from Martha, who simply clawed her fingers around Nac's back as she processed his words. She had always known that letting her babies join the Military would have some dire consequences, but to see such a consequence play out in front of her… to see someone be killed by a Titan before her very eyes… it… affected her greatly, to say the least.

'That could have happened to any one of us… it could've happened to me… to the other soldier… to Nac…!' thought Martha as she felt tears leaking from her eyes. The thought of her son meeting such a cruel demise sickened her immensely, but even so, Nac didn't seem all too affected by it as he watched Rico jog up to him in a panic. The older soldier seemed troubled, which was to be expected, and without releasing his mother from his grasp, Tias glanced up at Brzenska and looked at her expectantly.

"What's the latest, ma'am?" asked Nac warily, with him almost hoping to not get an answer as he spoke, and in response to this, Rico shook her head in anger.

"The cart's totalled, and the horse broke a leg after the Titan crashed into us. We won't have any of that to help us from here on out, unfortunately," lamented Rico, with her scowling as she glanced out towards the area around them warily, keeping her eyes out for Titans all the while. Nac flinched at her words, though he spoke little of it as she continued. "Moreover, more than half the civilians are missing…"

"Did they-" began Nac hesitantly, only for Rico to cut him off.

"No… only… three civilians were killed by the impact, but five others ran off when they saw the Titan. I… can't blame them for this, but still, I don't know if we can get them back here in a timely manner," stated Rico. Her annoyance was well hidden beneath her flat tone of voice, but even so, Nac could hear it quite well, and as he processed this, the junior opened his mouth to suggest something, only to be halted when the ground beneath them shook quite a bit. "... shit."

"... Titans?" muttered Nac as he glanced up at Rico, who scowled as she unsheathed her blades.

"Titans," confirmed Rico, with her shutting her eyes momentarily before reopening them and glancing down at Nac. "A pack of five, based on the intensity of the tremors, possibly more if they're smaller in scale, all approximately one kilometer away from us… shit…"

"H-How'd you know, though?" asked Nac as he got up, with him allowing his mother to lean against him as he did so, and in response to his inquiry, the Elite huffed.

"I've been on the field for a long while, long enough to link tremor intensity to the amount of Titans approaching us. It's a rough estimate, but it's a good skill to have," mused Rico, with her grinning as she glanced back at Nac, who looked impressed as he stood, but even so. "Nac Tias, get these civilians out of here. I will buy you as much time as possible."

"W-What?! But you won't-" began Nac, only for Rico to cut him off as she turned to face him directly.

"I know, Nac, but it is a soldier's duty to protect those that cannot fight, and right now, I am simply doing my part in this. I will not let these people perish because of my cowardice," stated Rico, and upon hearing this, the junior Survey Corp flinched before he turned towards the civilians, who appeared ready to bolt it at any given second as they listened to what Brzenska had to say.

"Then let me stay, ma'am! I can help you! If you can delay these Titans, even if it's for less than a minute, then I can double that time!" urged Nac, with him stepping away from Martha as he spoke, but even so, before she could stop him in any way, Rico turned to face him with a serious look on her face.

"No, listen to me, soldier! Your duty lies in protecting these Titans; you know as well as I do that the ones approaching us aren't the only ones here! Your job will be to escort these civilians safely out of Rose in my stead, to defend them from any and all Titans that intend on harming them along the way!" protested Rico, with her features hardening as she said this, and moments thereafter, she punched the younger soldier in the chest, not hard enough to make him recoil, before continuing. "We took a vow as trainees… to offer up our lives for the preservation of mankind. I am making good on my vow today, and you will as well… by protecting these civilians."

And thereafter, Rico brought her hand down and held it out for a handshake; she might not have known Nac for long, but he had earnt her respect in more ways than one, and as she held her hand out, the taller soldier flinched as he contemplated his response.

"Protect them, Nac Tias… it is your duty to do so," muttered Rico, and seconds later, Nac, after some heavy deliberation, accepted her handshake, with him offering her a warrior's handshake by linking their forearms against one another, though after he had broken their handshake apart, Tias reached behind himself and pulled out a Flare, with him handing it to Rico moments later.

Rico saw that it was an Orange Flare, and as she noticed this, Nac spoke up.

"The situation is dire… so…" reasoned Nac as he handed the Flare to Rico, who frowned as she pushed it back to him, but even so, he was quick to force it against her chest as he glared at her in annoyance. "Take. It."

"Are you sure… if you ran into a Titan, then…"

"I can handle it. But you… need some help, help that I can't provide at the moment… so just… use it, alright, ma'am?" stated Nac, with him smiling kindly at Rico as he spoke, and in response to this, Rico simply offered her junior a nod as she held the Flare tightly in her hand.

"Thank you, Nac Tias."

"Thank me by surviving, ma'am. If you do, I'll treat you to a drink."

"Bet."

And, with one final nod of utmost respect towards Rico, the junior soldier turned towards the civilians and motioned for them to follow him. They would have to make this trek on foot, which wasn't ideal, but even so, they weren't willing to let Brzenska's sacrifice be in vain, with all of them following the soldier in sprinting away from the Elite within a matter of seconds.

As for Rico herself, she pulled out her Flare Gun, loaded the shot in and fired it into the air, where the Orange Smoke trailed upwards within a matter of seconds. As it disappeared into the sky, Brzenska lowered her Gun and unsheathed both her blades, with her holding them out to her sides as she narrowed her eyes with determination.

And as she stood, ready for what was to come, a pair of primal, beastial even, eyes glared out at her from behind a line of trees.

Orange Flares had only been issued out in limited quantities, seeing as how they were all made for an incredibly niche purposes, and as such, it was incredibly rare to see them being used, and because of this, whenever one was fired, any soldier present could equate the issue at hand to be so dire that they needed Barbatos to assist them.

That being said, however, due to their limited distribution quantities, few would have them readily on hand. Mikazuki himself could remember the names of the few individuals that had them readily available; the entirety of Squads Mike and Levi, Erwin, Hanji… and his friends. Prior to the 57th Expedition beyond the walls, Mikazuki had given both Mina and Nac an Orange Flare each; only to be used when the situation was at its most dire, and by all means… if they were going to make use of it now, then the situation was no doubt at a boiling point.

Without even waiting for a word from either Mike or his compatriots, Mikazuki had bolted his unit towards the source of the Flare, with each step shaking the very earth beneath him as he progressed onwards. He was faintly aware of how Squad Mike was slowly but surely falling behind his unit, but even so, he couldn't give two shits about that as he had his Gundam sprint onwards tirelessly.

They could handle themselves in a fight, Mikazuki was certain of it. As for the one that had fired the flare, though… Mika assumed it to be Nac, and although he knew him to be no weakling, he was aware of how dire the situation must've been if he were to fire a Flare meant for last resorts only.

Whilst stomping through the outskirts of Rose, however, the pilot found himself tearing through several Titans without pause, knocking them aside or killing them as he rushed through. With a swing of his unit's arm unit, a Titan was swatted aside with such force that it skidded against the ground, digging up a crevasse with little to no issue as the skin on its face was peeled off, forcing it to lay down for a while to regenerate its flesh, and seconds later, another Titan was trampled upon when the Gundam rushed past it, crushing it beneath its heeled feet in an instant.

'We're not covering enough ground…' thought Mikazuki as he tapped the main monitor of his unit several times over, and as he did so, the pilot checked on the structural integrity of the leg units. They weren't doing so hot, but even so, through the Alaya-Vijnana system, the Gundam assured him that he could perform a few jumps before his mechanisms gave way, and with some reluctance, the pilot did just that.

"WHOA!"

And within seconds, and after a shocked gasp could be heard through the damaged audio receptors of his unit, Mikazuki had his Gundam, with the aid of the boosters located on its shins, leap high into the air. The unit covered a good fifty metres in a single leap, and when it landed, it jumped once more, soaring through the sky without much issue. Off in the background, Mike twitched an eyelid at just how quickly the thing could move; beneficial for missions, sure, but when it came to keeping up with it on the field… it was certainly a curse more so than a blessing.

Aside from some slowpokes, however, Mikazuki bounded through the grasslands as he allowed for his unit to scan the region around him. With each leap, the Gundam was able to get a good view of the area around him. Old and damaged though they may be, Barbatos' single remaining optical unit was able to give the pilot a good view of the area below him, and before long…

INDIVIDUAL LOCATED

NAC TIAS - APPROX 200 KILOMETERS AWAY

ETA - THIRTY SECONDS

… Barbatos informed him of where Mikazuki's friend was at, and with narrowed eyes, the pilot landed his Gundam back down onto the ground before leaping it towards where he was in a hurry. From where he stood, the pilot could see that his friend was not alone; there were two Titans attempting to corner him and what seemed to be several noncombatants that he was escorting.

'Why doesn't he have a horse… and for that matter, why are they trying to run from the Titans on foot…? Kh… I'll have to ask him personally about this later,' thought Mikazuki as he kicked the thrusters on his unit's shins into overdrive, and thereafter, the unit was sent soaring towards the crowd…

… and right as he dodged the swipe of a Titan attempting to catch him off the ground, Nac heard and felt it. The earth beneath him shook with the force of a tidal wave as the familiar sound of thrusters roared through the air, and moments later, a darkened silhouette blotted out the sun above him.

At first, Nac's eyes widened in shock when he saw it, but moments later, his lips peeled upwards into a grin when he realized what that entity was, and with a cry out to the civilians, Tias held his blades underhanded and dove for Martha, whose focus remained on the Titans as he did so.

"INCOMING!" cried Nac as he tackled his mother down onto her back, causing the two of them to fall to the ground moments later, and before Martha could even ask to know what was going on, Gundam Barbatos crashed down into the field, with him crushing the Titan that had been giving Nac quite a bit of grief in the process. Blood, guts, Titan viscera and dirt were sent rocketing towards the air as the Gundam impacted the ground, and those that were not prepared for its entrance were sent onto their backs with very little issue.

Only Nac and Martha were able to remain relatively unscathed as they laid on the ground, but even so, the former was quick to glance up and spot a single glowing green optic staring back down at him, and with a smile, he offered it a thumbs up.

"Thanks for the save, MIKA!" yelled out Nac, with his words causing Martha to widen her eyes as she glanced up at the Gundam's optic in shock, though moments later, the green glow of the unit's eyes shifted away from them and over towards the other Titan, which had lunged towards it whilst its back was turned, and right as it was about to land atop its back, Barbatos turned on a dime and grabbed it by the neck, snatching it out of the air like it weighed nothing before holding it up like a ragdoll.

And moments later, it squeezed its digits tightly around the Titan's neck, in turn crushing it and its nape with minimal issue, and as the Titan went limp in its grasp and began to dissolving into nothing, the unit dropped its body down, where the aftershock of the impact dispelled some of the smoke that had gathered by its feet, before turning towards Nac expectantly.

Crouching down, the Gundam began to shift into a position that Nac was highly familiar with; it was the unit's powered down state, where it would deactivate to allow its pilot to exit its cockpit. Normally, Tias would be all for it, but now, however… there was something else that he needed to work on.

"W-Wait! Mika… there's something else you need to take care of before you come out!"

A pause, with Barbatos halting briefly as it stared down at Nac, and moments later, he yelled out this 'other issue' that Mikazuki needed to attend to before he could greet him properly…

Some time prior

To fight alone was something that Rico was, admittedly, unused to, and as she holstered her Flare Gun and unsheathed her Anti-Titan blades, she stood with her back straight, ready to meet the opposition and halt them for as long as possible.

"We're Garrison. It's not our job to go out in a blaze of glory, you know?" was something that Ian had jokingly said some years back, and by all means, Rico had agreed with him on that… at the time, but now, however… a blaze of glory was the only thing that she wished to go down in as she felt the tremors get closer and closer, and as the seconds ticked by, the woman felt her heartbeat and breathing intensify as the fear mounted on.

'This is my duty, to die for the safety of others. I will see to it that that punk and those civilians get out of here in one piece… I swear upon it… upon my title as an Elite!' decladed Rico as the first Titan walked into view, with it stumbling forwards with a dopey grin on its face. Seeing it repulsed Brzenska greatly, though she spoke nothing of this as several more walked into view. They ranged from Three metre scum all the way down to Fifteen metre behemoths… and as the seconds ticked by, the platinum blonde woman felt her fear mounting further and further as her fight or flight sense began kicking in.

Ultimately, however, she chose the former… and as the Titan seemingly leading the pack came right for her, Rico bended her knees down, ready to spring into action… and right as the Titan leapt at her, Brzenska leaped into the air and dodged its attack, where she veered off away from it and swung high into the air.

As the first Titan recovered from its lunge, Rico, reaching the apex of her launch, narrowed her eyes as she counted how many Titans were present. She was almost on the mark in her initial predictions, as there were just about six Titans present (there were eight), though that didn't exactly matter much to her at the moment as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small sack she had with her.

Opening it, Rico wasted no time in dumping the contents onto herself, and as the powder within the sack fell onto her person, her body began to glimmer quite a bit as the Shining Powder did its job. The glimmer of her frame caught the Titans' attention in no time, and as she noticed this, the soldier, although horrified, still managed a grin as she boosted down towards them.

"That's right…!"

Boosting down, Rico flipped up and over a Titan's grasp as it swung its arm out at her, attempting to snatch her out of the air to no avail…

"Today… all of you…!"

Another attempted to lunge at her, though with a sideways boost with her Maneuver Gear, Rico was able to evade its lunge and land atop its head, where she ran along its forehead briefly before leaping off it with a scowl.

"Will DIE…!"

Upon leaping off the Titan's forehead, however, Brzenska saw a Titan swinging its arm out towards her in an attempt to grab onto her smaller frame, though before it could do so, Rico twisted her body and avoided its hand, with her skidding against its forearm before she righted herself up once more, and upon doing so, the platinum blonde ran up the length of the Titan's still outstretched arm as quickly as she could, and upon reaching its shoulder, she swung her blades upwards, towards the Titan's nape, slashing deep into it and killing it in one fell swoop.

"BY MY HANDS!"

The momentum that came with her slash had caused Rico to be sent soaring backwards after slashing at the Titan's nape, but even so, she counteracted this by firing her anchor onto the back of the dissolving Titan corpse's back, and thereafter, she swung herself back into the fray. Using the Titan corpse as a catapult, Brzenska flung herself at a Six metre's face, and as she reached it, she used her build up momentum to swing at its head.

The Titan barely even had any time to process her sudden appearance before Rico, through a combination of immense strength and the momentum of that catapult, cleared its head in half, and as it convulsed in pain whilst staggering backwards, Brzenska landed on the grass behind it with her back turned towards the Titan. Her knees were bent down low as she landed, and in an instant, she sprung back up, bouncing back towards the Titan with at terminal velocity, aided by the thrusters of her Maneuver Gear, and as she did so, she held onto her blades tightly as she flung herself back towards the Titan…

… and seconds later, Rico shot herself straight through the Titan's neck, ripping into it from the nape and emerging from its throat, like a bullet. Now slathered in Titan viscera, Brzenska glanced down to see the Titan now falling onto its back, dead, as she grinned. Two down, four more to-

"...!"

Right as she thought that, however, the Elite widened her eyes when she heard some stomping coming towards her, and seconds later, what seemed to be a tree came flying towards her! The unrooted tree came incredibly close to striking her out of the air, but by some ungodly miracle, Brzenska was able to avoid it almost completely as she weaved her body in an awkward manner, with her just barely dodging out of the way as she did so, though even as she avoided the thrown plant, the platinum blonde was still left falling out of control through the air as she frantically tried to regain her balance to little avail.

Landing on the ground in a rather awkward roll, Rico shook her head as she recovered from her fall, though moments later, she widened her eyes when she saw four of the Titans descending upon her. Rolling to one side, she was able to avoid a grab from a Titan before she unholstered her Flare Gun and fired a flare at its eye, forcing it to stagger backwards and allowing Brzenska to get back up to her feet and hastily fire her Maneuver Gear Anchors at the closest structure. She needed to put some distance between herself and these Titans…

… and yet, in her haste to put some distance between herself and her adversaries, Rico failed to realize what she had launched her anchors at, and right as they were launched out of their canisters, Brzenska widened her eyes when she realized that something had caught them before they could properly secure themselves onto a surface, and before she could look up and confirm what they had been caught by, the platinum blonde soldier was yanked off her feet and hoisted up into the air.

"GAH!" cried the Elite as she was flung off her feet, and moments later, she felt her back being slammed into a tree, prompting her to flinch heavily in pain as she took a moment or two to recover, though as she did so…

"How intriguing…"

"...?!... !"

A Titan was already upon her…! A Five metre Titan with a sizable nose and bulbous eyes, the small (by Titan standards) creature snarled as it drew closer to Brzenska with its jaws wide open and before long, it was upon her…!

"Hold."

Whoever said that… was a mystery to Rico, though she didn't have any time to solve said mystery as the Five metre Titan was already upon her. Reaching out towards the woman, it grabbed her and attempted to shove her into her mouth, and as it did so, Brzenska fought back with all that she could muster. Her blades tore through the air as she offered the Five metre multiple cuts to the face, though they did nothing to deter it as the damn thing seemed ignorant of the pain, and before long, it shoved her into its mouth, and even with her best efforts to keep it away from herself…

CRUNCH!

SNAP!

"GAAAAAH!"

… the Titan ultimately got a good hit on her as it bit down onto her leg, snapping it at the knee, before proceeding to chew on her flesh. Struggling evermore now, Rico wouldn't deny the tears that fell from her face as she attempted even harder to free herself from the Titan's grasp, though it was useless…! Its grip on her was simply too strong… and by all means, it seemed as though she was going to die here…

'Nac… Mitabi, Ian… C-Commander… forgive me for my failure to live up to your expectations…!' thought Rico remorsefully as she continued to struggle, with her adrenaline doing little to boost her physical capabilities as she did so, but moments later, almost as though through some form of miracle, the biting ceased, and not a second thereafter…

"I thought I told you to hold."

… the skull of the Titan that had been biting down onto Brzenska's leg was crushed by another, and upon being pulverised, the Five metre's body went limp; it was not dead, not just yet, but even so, it was put out of commission for now, inadvertently freeing Rico from its grasp all the while. Falling to the floor, the Garrison soldier took a moment or two to regain her bearings as her heart hammered against her ribcage; her leg from the knee down as nothing more than a mangled mess of torn up flesh and bone, something that pained her greatly, and by all means, it was the adrenaline that was keeping her from screaming in agony as she glanced up at what had just… saved her.

And let it be known that, when she saw who… or what it was… Rico's ice almost immediately turned cold.

'A… Titan…?'

That much was correct. A Titan had saved her, a Titan that was unlike any other that Rico had seen in the past. Standing at Seventeen metres in height, the Titan had lanky limbs and fur covering most of its body, barring parts of its torso, where its bare chest could be seen, giving it a somewhat animalistic vibe. Its eyes were a bright yellow that regarded Rico thoughtfully… intelligently, as it crouched down in front of her, and its mouth was curled up into a malevolent grin, one that sent shivers up Brzenska's spine as she watched the… Beast Titan open its mouth and-

"Curious… tell me, what is that weapon of yours called? That thing on your waist that allows you to fly."

'It… SPEAKS?!'

Breathing in heavily, Rico, through her cracked lenses, could only watch on in abject horror as the Beast Titan spoke to her in a calm, practically human voice whilst flashing a sharp grin. Its voice sounded… pragmatic, and as it spoke, it brought its hands up to gesture in a somewhat melodramatic fashion.

For her part… Rico was unsure of how to respond. How could she…? How do you respond to a Titan that could speak?! Even Barbatos was incapable of such a thing! As she pondered on this, the Beast Titan raised a hand up to scratch behind one of its pointed ears, and off in the background, Brzenska took stock of a Titan hiding from it behind a tree…

What was going on…? Were the other Titans… afraid of the Beast? But why…?

"Hm, I am almost certain that we speak the same language, no? Hm… perhaps you are simply too frightened," observed the Beast Titan, with its words causing Rico to flinch at how accurate they were as she shifted backwards a little. That movement caused her Anti-Titan blades, which had fallen by her sides by now, to shift a little thanks to the wires connecting them to their scabbards, and as this happened, the Titan took stock of them. "Ah, I see that you make use of swords… such a revelation means that you know that we reside within the nape, no?"

'They reside within the nape…? What does… no… is this one…?' thought Rico, with her making a somewhat horrific connection as she thought of this, though before that connection could be fully made, the soldier widened her eyes when she saw the Beast Titan bring its hand towards her…

"In any case, I shall take that back with me-"

… and right as she saw this, Rico scampered back and yanked on one of her Anti-Titan blade wires, pulling the weapon it was attached to towards herself, and as soon as it was within her grasp, she held it up towards the Beast Titan as threateningly as she possibly could. Said Titan appeared somewhat impressed at this, with it watching in silence as Brzenska used her other blade to force herself back up to her feet, using it like a crutch almost.

"Ah, so you can move now… a valiant display of Eldian defiance, but alas… it is very much for naught," observed the Beast Titan, with the other Titans flinching towards Rico as she made her move, and as they did so, the woman remained upright as she stood on one wobbly leg and a broken one. Her eyes were burning with adrenaline as tears fell from her gaze, and as she stood weakly, the Beast Titan stood up and smiled. "Finish her, if you will."

Seconds later, the Titans converged onto Rico Brzenska, with the Beast Titan silently observing as they got ready to tear her apart; it could salvage the remains of her equipment once the slaughter was over, after all. The blood would've been an issue, but even so… it wasn't anything that couldn't be polished off…

But alas, such a thing was not about to come to pass, as, mere moments before the Titans could converge fully upon a horrified Rico, the ground beneath them shook with the force of a tidal wave, one so strong that several of the Titans present, plus Rico herself, were sent off their feet with just how intense it was, with the Beast Titan being the only one to remain upright as it turned towards the source of the tremor, only to raise a brow when it saw a cloud of smoke not too far from where they were.

"Curious… very curious indeed," muttered the Beast Titan as Rico got up from the ground, with her once again using her blades as a crutch to assist her in standing up, but rather, contrary to her initially horrified demeanor, the Garrison soldier was instead… laughing as she got herself to stand, and as the frantic, practically unhinged chuckles escaped her lips, the Abnormal Titan that had crippled her turned in her direction and raised a brow at her in confusion. "Ah, so you can speak. What is it that you find so funny, Eldian?"

"W-What I f-find funny, monkey, is the fact that you… all of you, are in for a whole world of pain…!" was all Rico could choke out at that point, and right as she said this, the Beast Titan could only stare down at her in confusion… confusion that rapidly turned into shock when it glanced down at the ground and saw a shadow converging upon it from above, and seconds later, without even looking back, the Titan lunged to one side, effectively dodging the newcomer that was about to land onto it with milliseconds to spare.

The aftershock of the newcomer's landing was strong enough to create a decently sized shockwave, one that sent the smaller Titans soaring backwards whilst Rico remained on her feet for now, and as she remained where she was, the Elite, in spite of her current injuries, couldn't resist a small smile as she glanced up to see none other than the Gundam that she had called for stomping towards her.

Barbatos looked just as she remembered, albeit much banged up, but regardless, it was a great relief to see it once more, and as it moved to stand atop her, positioning itself in a way where none of the Titans could reach her without risking being struck down by it, the unit assumed a defensive stance; it had no weapons on hand at the moment, but that was barely an issue for it.

"Impossible…" muttered the Beast Titan in the background, a comment that wasn't picked up by the Gundam's audio receptors as its remaining optical sensor darted around the area. As that happened, it picked up on the four remaining Titans, though…

… much to his surprise, none of the Titans were approaching him for one reason or another. The damaged radar system of his unit confirmed as much, and at first, the pilot thought it to be jammed in some way, but then…

"Could it be? As I live and breathe… does the Mechanical Titan stand before me yet again?"

"...?"

The booming voice of a loud individual became audible to Mikazuki's ears. Although the audio receptors were busted, the hole in the Gundam's cockpit made it rather easy for him to hear loud sounds and voices from outside his unit without the aid of Barbatos' built in audio systems, and as he turned towards the one speaking to him, Mika found himself raising his brows in… uncertainty when he saw that it was a Titan…

The Beast Titan stood almost as tall as Barbatos himself, but even so, it was no doubt weaker than him. Still though, strength aside, Mikazuki noticed how the Titan was staring at his Gundam with a sense of almost… reverence as its eyes widened in shock, and all around him, the other lesser Titans backed off for reasons unknown.

"A talking Titan…? That shouldn't be possible… and Mechanical Titan…? No one has called you that for a long time… except…" muttered Mikazuki, with him frowning as he recalled how a certain blonde had referred to Barbatos via his prior title oh so long ago, but even so, he though nothing of this as he relaxed his Gundam's position, with him at showing that he intended to at least hear this Titan out all the while. Seeing this change in behaviour, the Beast Titan smiled and continued.

"I see that you do indeed stand before me once more, Mechanical One. The records have stated that you perished, and yet… here you stand, whole and with your white armour blemished but still nonetheless intact," mused the Beast Titan, with its grin widening as it watched Barbatos regard it in silence, though after some time… "Hm… curious… why do you not speak? The records state that you know of our language and that you spoke our tongue…"

'I stand before you once more…? The records… and their language…? … there's no doubt about it, this Titan's one of them… a Marlayan…' thought Mikazuki as he recalled Annie's comment on the Ten Titans, or rather the Nine. This must've been one of those nine, and if he had to make a guess, it was here to find the Founding Titan alongside its allies. A worrying thought, but even so, the pilot thought little of it as he took stock of how Rico was shifting beneath his unit's legs.

Glancing one of his Gundam's remaining suboptics down towards Brzenska, Mikazuki frowned when he saw that her leg was almost literally hanging on by a thread at this point, having been practically chewed off by now. He might not have known Rico all that well, but even so, Augus still considered her an ally, and, when he took stock of how the Beast Titan's gaze had darted towards the platinum blonde, even if it was for a literal split second, the pilot shifted one of his unit's legs forwards to block her from it, confusing it greatly.

"Hm… why do you protect the Eldian, Mechanical One? Surely, you know of the history we have with them, no?" asked the Titan, with its curiosity seeming somewhat genuine as it spoke. Mikazuki's simple response was to scowl at the Beast Titan, with him tightening his grip around the arm controllers of his unit as he eyed his adversary in silence, and as he did so, the Beast saw how the Gundam's manipulators had balled themselves up into fists at this point, a surefire sign of aggression, if anything else. "Surely, you have not allied yourself with them…?"

Mikazuki's simple response to the Titan's inquiry was to have his unit fall into an offensive stance, with its arms held up and ready to punch this monkey into oblivion if need be. In response to this, the Beast Titan appeared… very much taken aback as it watched the Mechanical Titan not only openly stand against it, but also side against the Eldians, but alas, it supposed that not everything that it has read up on could be non-fiction, and as such, it frowned and bowed its head.

"I see… a shame, for a legendary Warrior like yourself to turn against us… were it possible for me to do so, I would kill you right here and now to cleanse you of your insolence, but even I know that I am no match for your power," admitted the Beast Titan, which began to step back as it spoke, and as it did so, Barbatos' radar began lighting up, with eight Titans abruptly rushing to its position as the seconds ticked by. They appeared so quickly that the pilot had been thoroughly caught off guard, though as for the Beast, it used this time to step out of sight and disappear behind a line of trees.

Mikazuki would've pursued it… were it not for the fact that Rico was still a factor in all this.

Glancing down towards Brzenska, Mikazuki had Barbatos lean down and pluck her off the ground, and upon doing so, in spite of her broken leg, the pilot hoisted her up and opened his unit's cockpit before dropping her inside. The short Elite landed atop his lap with an unsavoury thunk, and upon being dropped in, the cockpit closed whilst she remained atop the pilot's thighs in a somewhat awkward manner.

This wasn't the best solution to keeping Rico safe for the time being, but even so… it was currently the most optimal one, considering the condition of her leg. Were she still in fighting condition, Augus would've undoubtedly fought alongside her as he was confident in his ability to keep her alive when up against eight measly Titans, though as things were now, he could not do as such, and when she asked about all this, the pilot said as much, prompting Brzenska to reluctantly agree as she remained atop his lap.

"Hold onto something. You'll be jostled around and with your leg in such bad shape," began Mikazuki, only to trail off when he saw how Rico's leg, below the knee, was mangled quite badly, the pilot could only flinch ever so slightly, "you'll want to move around as little as possible."

"But what should I even GAAAAAAH!"

And right as she asked this, Rico abruptly jolted her arms up and wrapped them around Mikazuki's neck when the pilot suddenly slammed his feet down onto the leg steppers of his unit. The speed that the Gundam could move at was unprecedented to someone like the Elite, and as it bobbed and weaved around the battlefield, Brzenska could only hang tightly onto the one anchor in the cockpit and pray to whatever God she believed in for things to be alright.

Without the cockpit, Barbatos boosted to one side to avoid a lunge from a Titan, and as it leapt past him, he grabbed onto its ankle and yoinked it out of the air, throwing it towards another all the while. On impact, both Titans exploded into a mess of blood and viscera, and thereafter, the Gundam leaned to one side to avoid a punch to the cockpit from another Titan.

Pulling back his other arm unit, Barbatos splayed his digits out before jolting his arm down towards the outstretched Titan's exposed neck, stabbing it in the nape with little issue, and once his digits were buried within its nape, the Gundam closed it shut around its spinal column and ripped its spine out from its back. Rico could only widen her eyes at this shocking display of nonchalant might, though as for Mikazuki, he remained quiet as Barbatos adjusted his grip on the spinal column, with him holding it by its base, before he proceeded to whack several Titans over the head with it.

"I… I-I never thought I'd live long enough to see something like… this happen…" admitted Rico bluntly as she watched, through Barbatos' own optics, the Gundam swat a Titan into a tree with the dissolving spinal column of one of its own, and as it landed with its back crashing against the pine, the Gundam was quick to close in on it and kick it directly in the torso, with said kick being so powerful that it liquified its entire body and caused the tree to topple.

"Get used to it," was her simple response from Mikazuki, who had Barbatos pick up the toppled tree, and although it did put some strain on his unit's arm joints to do so, it wasn't enough to cause any long lasting damages, and with a grunt, he had his Gundam swing the thing towards the Titans with great force. Said swing bashed aside three of the remaining Titans whilst destroying the skull of another, taking it out of commission whilst the others took some time to recover, and as that happened, Barbatos brought the tree up over its head before slamming it down onto one of the three surviving Titans, eviscerating it on impact.

"F-Forgive me if it's exceptionally difficult to get used to seeing these Titans fall with so little effort on your part, Mikazuki Augus…" apologised Rico as she watched the Titan be crushed beneath the tree, and as she said this, the pilot couldn't hold back an amused snort as Barbatos turned towards the remaining two Titans of the initial eight. "I knew that Barbatos was a force to be reckoned with, but even so…"

Huffing softly as he heard her say this, Mikazuki turned towards the remaining two Titans and watched as they got up. Narrowing his eyes between the two, the pilot was ready to take them down, though before he could do so, several small blips popped up on his unit's radar, and moments later, the Survey Corps were upon them.

Leading the charge was Mike Zacharius, who swung in and dove between one of the two Titans' legs and slashed behind its knees, severing its major tendon and forcing it to stagger back, where Lynne followed up by slashing into its nape whilst it fell. After her blades passed by the Titan's neck, Lynne, thanks to her built up momentum, flung herself skywards and landed atop Barbatos' chest, landing by its one good optic and flashing it a thumbs up thereafter.

"Yo," greeted Lynne, with her greeting being short enough to be picked up by the audio receptors, and to this, the Gundam nodded as he turned back towards the final Titan present, and upon doing so, Mikazuki watched as three more soldiers swung into the fray.

Nac and Henning barrelled into the fray, with them aiming their swings at the ankles of the Titan, and upon swinging their blades, they cut deeply enough to sever a major tendon, forcing it to fall forwards onto its knees. Whilst doing so, however, the Titan turned towards Nac and made an attempt to snatch him out of the air, only for Tomas to boost into the fray and intervene, slashing at its fingers and dismembering four of the five in one fell swoop, and as the Titan retracted its hand in confusion, Barbatos jolted forwards and grabbed the Titan by the throat.

Lifting it up to optic-level, Barbatos glared at the smaller creature in silence with a single glowing green optic, and after a few milliseconds of quiet, he tightened his grip around its throat and crushed it completely, and as he let its dissolving corpse fall to the ground, the pilot within his chest glanced down to see the other soldiers present gathering by his unit's feet, with Nac waving up at him enthusiastically all the while…

… and off in the distance, the Beast Titan, hidden behind a line of trees, watched as the heir to the Mechanical Titan exited its body of metal, having reunited with the other Eldians by now. Kneeling in front of the small group of soldiers and noncombatants, the host of the Mechanical Titan set down that woman that the Beast had been interrogating minutes ago, with him taking some care in not injuring her leg further all the while.

'Why would one of our own turn against us…?' thought the remarkably intelligent Titan as it observed the pilot set the Eldian down, and moments later, it watched as an Eldian woman rushed towards him and engulfed him in a hug, and likewise, an Eldian man stood by his side, laughing as the pilot returned it in full. Seeing this made the Beast widen its eyes… 'I see… the inheritor of the Mechanical Titan… has imprinted on these Eldians. How… unfortunate… perhaps it would be best for us to eliminate him outright…'

As it thought this, however, the heir to the Mechanical Titan's gaze abruptly turned in the Beast Titan's direction, with the other Eldians following his gaze as he did so, and at that, the eyes of the Beast and the pilot locked onto one another for the briefest of moments, and, if only for a second, the young man seemed ready to leap back into his unit's cockpit and finish what the Marlayan had started, something that wasn't ideal for it, to say the least.

And so… it fled. Cowardly though it may have been, to face the Titan that had decimated entire countries on its own was… illogical, to say the least, and as such, a strategic retreat was very much necessary.

And off with the soldiers present, Mikazuki, who was still being hugged by Martha, sighed as he watched some trees be rustled as he allowed his adoptive parent to stroke his remarkably smooth hair.

"Is something wrong, Mikazuki?" asked Lynne curiously as she took a step towards the young man, who simply buried his face deeper into his mother's bosom before responding.

"No… nothing's wrong… nothing whatsoever."

Just so you know, I'm working on some major edits for some earlier chapters in this fic.